


Support and Counsel

by Crazy_luna



Series: Owari Magica [99]
Category: Owari Magica
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_luna/pseuds/Crazy_luna
Summary: Chara and Carlos have another chat! This time, to help the young magi process her grief in a way that helps her keep her head.
Series: Owari Magica [99]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815574





	Support and Counsel

**Author's Note:**

> POINTS  
> Total: 1940  
> Beetle: 1219 words at 610 +600 +50= 1260pts  
> Chara: 721 words at 365 +350 = 715pts

Chara was walking home already hearing about processing losing two of her mentors and friends now dead, before hearing the message alert on her phone. she picked it up... and what she read broke the last bit of emotional strength she had at the moment and began to cry... the magi she felt closest to was dead... She couldn't process all this, she needed to talk to someone. She then looked at her phone and remembered Mr. Carlos's number. She debated on actually calling him, but she knew that a call would prove how much more urgent she needed to talk to someone. so she called seeming on the verge of tears using all her emotional strength to try and not start sobbing right then and there, but it would be heard in her voice that what she had to say wasn't a good thing...

Carlos had been feeling... off, all day. Maybe even for the past couple of days. He'd been trying to distract himself from that weird, unpleasant thought with trying to make up some nonsense songs to use for his classes, when his phone rings. He smiles a little at the contact name, and hooks the phone into the dip between his neck and shoulder, answering with a smile.

"Hey, Cariño! What's up?" It's always a delight to talk to his favorite student.

Chara heard the voice and started "M-Mr. Carlos, I-I really need to talk to you in person... s-something, something really bad happened." she began to cry harder now barely able to control it at all, not even playing her guitar would be enough to calm her this time around. "can we meet at the park somewhere? or I come to you?" she asked struggling to keep control

Oh, oh no.

"Of course. Are you near a park right now, Chara? Find somewhere to sit down, I'll come to you. I'm not doing anything important today, okay?" Carlos's heart ached at the sound of her crying. The poor dear, whatever's gotten her so worked up must have been a lot. He'll do his best to help her through it.

"Once you're sitting down, you can give me a general idea of where you are, or text me your location. I'll be there as soon as I can be, alright?"

She nods sitting on a bench and looked around "The bus stop from the first time we talked about magi is several feet to my right so if you go straight past it you'll find me" she said through her tears barely able to hold back

"I'll be there in ten minutes, okay, Cariño? While you wait, I need you to breath in long and slow. Count to four as you breathe in, hold it for four seconds, and count to four again as you let it out. That'll help you calm down, okay?" He talks as he walks, packing up his acoustic guitar, a couple notebooks and some pens, and his wallet and keys as he breezes out of his apartment.

"Once I'm there you can go right back to crying if you need to, but I don't want you to get hurt or anything while you wait, alright?"

Chara nods "o-ok" taking slow deep breaths. She was glad to hear he was coming. she was so glad to know him as a support, honestly she didn't know how to handle this much loss. she may have lost her grandparents but they died to a long old age, her friends.... they barely scratched life...

Carlos practically runs his way to the bus stop, and manages to catch one as it's going the way he needs it to as he gets there. With his notebooks tucked under the arm carrying his suitcase, his other hand is free to tap his knee in erratic patterns to keep himself occupied as he goes.

"Won't be too long now, alright? If you need to talk about anything, feel free to do so. If you'd like me to distract you for a minute I can do that as well."

Chara had to think hard and tried to keep calm knowing he'd be there soon, "I-I don't know, I-I'm trying not to lose control of my emotions, and usually my emotional strength is strong but... this is the first time since I made that wish that I've felt this way... I don't know...." she said trying to calm herself. but she didn't know how else other than the deep breathing

"Alright, Cariño, breathe. I can talk to you about inconsequential things?" He offered, fingers tapping on his knee a little faster.

"I've been writing some melodies to help some of my less musically inclined students learn the scales and tempo easier, simple little tunes that are easy to remember. One of them was accidentally Shave and a Haircut, but... there's a reason I'm a teacher and not actually writing songs for profit." He lets out a breath, trying to remind himself to keep calm.

Chara nods a small chuckle, "songs I've worked on are never easy" she noted a small smile but the frown returned quickly, maybe she should write a song for her fallen friends...

"Writing songs completely from scratch is... impossible." Carlos huffed.

"Well, not really, but hyperbole never hurt anyone. I've been workshopping a personal song, something for myself, for a few years. I've had the lyrics finished, or at least most of them decided, since nearly the beginning, but the melody and tempo always trip me up. Can't ever decide how I actually want it to sound." As the bus rolls to a stop, Carlos surges to his feet and nearly trips as he gets off. Turning to the left, he spots Chara a little ways away, and lets out a sigh.

"Look up, Cariño."

Chara looked up seeing Carlos... and sure enough the waterworks hit hard.... she looked in total grief, that look of someone who lost someone near and dear to them. She wanted to hug him right then and there, as a form of asking for support... after all what she was about to tell him would be heart braking...

Carlos hung up, and dropped his guitar case on the ground as he stepped up to the bench, kneeling in front of her and reaching out gently to let her initiate contact.

"Hey, hey, Charititititita, it's okay, I'm here." He wanted to pull her into his chest and hold her, but he didn't want to crowd her. Just in case she'd rather not be touched at all.

Chara seeing him offer hugged him instantly sobbing, before telling him, "I-Its 3 of my friends and mentors, Ness, Von, a-and Ana.... t-they're dead!" she cried hard finally saying the horrible horrible news

Her heart was aching in pain, she hadn't felt this level of loss in such a short period of time! She luckily still didn't need much purification but this certainly didn't help... nor did she suspect the situation help anyone...

"D-dead?" He breathed even as he curled his arms around her, cradling her head against his shoulder and letting her cry it out. He'd known it was dangerous, and he's seen the missing people lists, but... it's different, hearing it first hand. He bit down on the urge to question her, instead focusing on helping her process her grief.

"I've got you, alright? I'm here. Do you know what happened...?"

Chara began to explain, "Ness... her soul gem got completely corrupted, turning her into a witch, Von died in battle. and Ana, she died but it wasn't despair or battle... I know that the curse that balances us is that once we fall into despair we become witches... but this is the first of our friends to do so... then.... those who die without it...." Chara cried "So much was going on I didn't know, I was only close to a few magi and two of my closest friends I currently had are gone... I-I couldn't help them.... I promised I'd help them..." she was a mess

Carlos hissed. He didn't really know much about witches; he'd been unconscious for the two he's been captured by, as far as he knows, but... it doesn't sound good, to hear what's happened to these poor girls. He runs his fingers through Chara's hair, to try and help her calm down.

"Hey, hey, shh. It... it isn't fair, or right, but... you can't be everywhere, Cariño. Things happen. Accidents, tragedies, unfortunate circumstances. Life isn't fair. But... that doesn't mean it's bad. Your friends wouldn't want you to blame yourself, Charitita. It's not your fault, don't blame yourself for things you cannot control. I know the impulse to take blame is strong, but... all you're doing is making yourself miserable, mija."

Chara still cried but knew he was right. She took too much unnecessary blame. As difficult as it was to tell herself there was nothing she could do. She still wished there was something she could have done, but hearing someone say it to her like this, it did help a little and slowly began to calm down, of course still grieving, but not blaming herself... she knew life situations caused the magi to either distrust or accidentally or purposely hurt each other. As much as she knew something will one day happen to her, seeing her friends so soon meet that fate... it broke her heart.

"That's it, Cariño, let it out. It's alright. You're okay..." He continues to run his fingers through her hair, switching to crooning soft encouragement in Spanish for a bit. He doesn't think she speaks the language, but his intent is clear in his tone, and it might be easier to calm down if she's just processing noise instead of taking in words.

And it did help, the soft noises soothes her and calms her down slowly. Then she begins to slowly stop crying. “Thank you Mr. Carlos... “ she said tears still in her eyes but not as overwhelming as before. She knew he probably had questions about things as well and was more open to talking now.

Carlos smiles, and runs his fingers through her hair again.

"You're welcome, Cariño. I'll be here any time you need me, alright?" He sighs.

"This really is as dangerous as I'd hoped it wasn't, isn't it?"

Chara nods "people dying are part of the course... after all the price we made for our wishes wasn't truly revealed to us..." she let go and turned her ring into her soul gem there was some corruption but not to worrying yet. "This is what makes us magi... its called a soul gem... the name alone reveals more than we thought..." hinting what really is in it.... tears still in her eyes but not as heavy as before

Carlos's lips thinned. They really had been convinced to throw their souls away. He cupped a hand underneath hers.

"I wish I could make a crack about contracts not being legally binding if a minor signs on without an adult witness... but this doesn't seem like the time." He squeezes her hand.

"Is there anything you need to get off of your chest, Cariño? Anything else bothering you?"

Chara sighed "I think I'm also confused about my loyalty" she turned her gem back to a ring then explained what she had heard about the others, like Percy originally protecting Belladonna while she was sending threats to every one, Belladonna becoming a member, Percy as the new leader, everything. "Honestly... I don't know what to feel, in some cases because the girls warned me I feel betrayed a little, but at the same time Percy was not only one who had friendly spar with me but told me the truth about magi so I can't hate him. A part of me wants belladonna being on our side to be a good thing... but at the same time it seems everyone is turning against each other... I don't know where my loyalty lies... I don't know what feel..." she said wiping her eyes as best as she could

"I want to help but I just don't know how..."

"Well... it's a good thing to no longer have to worry about someone trying to convince you or the others to despair. I've only seen Percy in passing, but he seems like an alright young man. If you're that conflicted about it... you can reach out to others for help getting your feelings in order. Is there someone else in the team you trust that you could talk to about this? I know... 3 of them have... left. But you're a team, so... why not lean on the others? Maybe someone else feels just as lost in the group as you do, and reaching out is what will make you both feel needed."

Chara frowned "the only one left aside from them is Salem, Von's twin, I think she'd be even more grief stricken than me, and I'd never want to put someone as nice as her through that, Percy I'm DECENTLY close to, but with all that's happened.... That's just the point... I'm actually kinda shy once we meet properly I'm friendly but because the others know each other better I NEVER feel like I can get close to any of them easily...

"Aren't there others in the group? You talk like there's a bunch, and I know I've seen a few different people at the witch battles I was... part of, I guess? Maybe they won't be one of the older members, but... maybe someone who's been around for around as long as you have is feeling a lot of the same conflict you are?"

Chara thought a moment... “Chance... she started not long after me... and she was in the same position I was.... I don’t know why I didn’t talk to her much after all the chaos happened... “ great she felt like a horrible friend now...

"Hey, you two probably haven't spoken much. It's alright not to think of every single person you know, but... you've thought of her now. There's no time like the present, or the near future, to reach out."

Chara nods “thank you Mr. Carlos... her tears slowly coming to a stop. She planned on calling Chance first thing tomorrow to talk. She felt since they met at the same time they should be closer and she was going to remedy that situation.

"Anytime, Cariño." He sits back on his heels.

"Feel a little better?"

She nods “yeah a little... I’m not used to this yet though... and yeah... I’ll miss them... dearly... but I gotta keep moving... learn from this...” her emotional strength had returned, she was still in grief no doubt but what she had experienced was when she was finally overwhelmed.

"It's alright to miss them, and to not be done. Grief is a process." He squeezes her hand again.

"But you're not alone, and you can lean on me or the other magi, or whoever you need to, to help you get through it."

Chara nods... he's right... she wasn't alone anymore.... she was a free person, what was she feeling now? grief certainly, but having her friends still here... and while she knows what will happen to her one day... she knows... there's still hope.... hope.... that same feeling that made her a magi in the first place... is what she feel's is gonna keep her alive. and then remembered a song she worked on long ago the tune but new lyrics were needed... and this time... she had the words...

She hugged Carlos again, this time as a sign of how grateful she was, "You have no idea how much I needed that reminder... I think... there's still hope... I just needed the reminder..."

"There's always hope, Cariño. Even in the depths of despair, there's always a sliver of hope you can cling to. It can't necessarily be the only thing keeping you going... but it doesn't need to be, now that you've got people to rely on."

Chara nods "your right, as always~" feeling able to smile again and make a small joke, she was returning to normal... her strength almost fully returned

Carlos grinned.

"I am always right, aren't I? I should get a poster of that for my classroom. 'Mr. De La Ruiz is Always Right'. With a guitar in the center maybe? Hmm. Have to think about it." He taps his chin, smile still tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Chara laughed nodding "Maybe~" she said her smile may be softer now but she still could smile. "To be honest I have a song I just realize I want to work on... it might be good not only for me... but maybe the others.... in a way... I'll feel like its my tribute to their inspiration to me... and that keeps them alive in my heart...." she said with a soft smile

"Yeah? That's a pretty powerful message. A good one to want to send. Writing music to process grief is a pretty common thing. I know some therapists recommend it, even. You've got a good head on your shoulders, Cariño."

Chara smiled "thanks to having people like you and the others that is" she said with a smile

Carlos grinned.

"Exactly."

Chara smiled this turned from one of the worst memories of her life to a good experience, all because she had someone listen to her and helped her. she needed to keep this in mind from now on. maybe those years in bad foster homes made her forget to ask, and when freedom arrived she didn't need it, but now... she knows its ok to need help and not try to carry the world on her shoulders


End file.
